New waste industry forum announced for NI

A new initiative has been announced to introduce a Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) forum for Northern Ireland's (NI) waste sector.

As part of this forum, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) will team up with the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland and other groups to increase awareness of dangers in the country's waste sector.

CIWM chief executive Steve Lee said: "The collection, treatment and disposal of wastes involves industrial processes that carry risks and the industry takes these risks and its responsibility to manage and mitigate them very seriously."

Mr Lee continued by saying that there has been a significant reduction in the number of dangerous incidents over recent years because of the health and safety efforts of waste companies.

The significance of health and safety was recently emphasised by Bibby Consulting & Support's Michael Slade, who claimed that firms which do not enforce effective safety measures could see their reputations suffer